NV Silencer vs. VF700-Cu

g00n · Post by **g00n** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 5:27 pm

I'm debating between the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 rev. 3 and the Zalman VF700-Cu (or possibly VF900). Obviously lower noise is an objective but I would also like to cool this card better. EVGA's stock 6800GT fan/heatsink is pretty crappy. The card idles at about 60C.

What are your thoughts on comparing the two? Which is considered best? The VF900 is fairly new and there isnt much feedback on it yet. Which solution is considered the overall best choice?

JVM · Post by **JVM** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 12:05 pm

I asked a similar question some time ago. The answer seems to be an individual's preference, which could be based on experiences with a particular unit. The problem is how many people have actually had both units on the same card to compare?

I've read reviews showing the AC Silencer cools a bit better than the VF700, but I've also seen comments here suggesting the VF700 cools memory better.

The idea behind the AC Silencer is best in that it is supposed to exhaust heat out of the case, but cleaning the ACS appears to be more of an effort and may require removing the card? The one clear advantage I see for the VF700, or VF900, is they are more compatible with different cards. If you buy the ACS 5 revision 3 and decide to upgrade in the near future, then most likely you will need to buy another version or another cooler. Also, seems like Arctic Cooling is not producing any new versions with the exhaust feature as evidenced with their new designs in the Accelero series.

Personally, if I were you, I would give the AC Silencer a shot mainly because it exhausts heat out of the case.

Just to let you know, I haven't used ACS or VF700.

You could probably start a poll and still find no clear-cut winner

aowen512 · Post by **aowen512** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:46 pm

if the VF700-CU is perhaps a few temps cooler on the gpu, and cools the memory better... this would give you the better overclocking possibility. it also though leaves heat in the case

personally, i thnk it comes down to this

if temps are great in your case with stock cooler, VF700-CU is the option for you

if you ramp up the gcard and your temps are soaring, then the nv5 silencer is for you (releases heat to outside of case instead of inside)

Tzupy · Post by **Tzupy** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 2:52 am

Actually, both of them are noisy at 12V, since the fans spin at 2,500+ rpm.
So they are quiet enough only when the fan runs slower, but I'm not sure how good the cooling for a 6800 GT would be in that case.

krille · Post by **krille** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:44 am

I have the NV5 Silencer Rev 3 on my 7800GTX and used to have the VF-700 CU on my 6800NU. The NV5 is incredibly noisy, I really can't stand the noise. This is at 12 volts and I have no clue how to lower it on the card HSF? Imo, the VF-700 was much more silent. However this is just me and the VF-700 was with an older card. Never tried both on the same card (did try the old NV5 Silencer Rev 2 on the 6800NU and that was much more silent than Rev 3, I still believe VF-700 was more silent though).

~ Kris

Tzupy · Post by **Tzupy** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:12 am

@krille: have you tried Rivatuner to turn down the fan speed?
It should work on 7800 GTX, but you have to use a bit older drivers, that are supported by Rivatuner.

My question: would a VF700Cu @5V be able to properly cool a 7900 GT (not overclocked)?

jmke · Post by **jmke** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:05 am

between the 3, the VF900 might be your best bet, at 5V the performance is on par with VF700 at 12V, and it's noticeable quieter